| When an individual touches
another during an act of sexual abuse or for his or her own
sexual arousal or gratification, without the other’s
consent, he or she may be charged with sexual battery. In
California, when the parties are intimate partners, the crime
becomes one of domestic violence, which has several additional
ramifications for the accused. Intimate partners, in a same
sex relationship, are partners who are or were dating, partners
who are or were living together, partners who have children
together and partners who are or were united in a civil union.
DNA evidence is one way to prove or disprove
that an individual sexually battered his or her intimate partner.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is becoming more popular as a
form of evidence in this country because of its specificity
and reliability. A person’s DNA is particular only to
that individual (with the exception of identical twins) and
remains the same throughout his or her life. DNA appears in
virtually every cell in one’s body and is the same in
each cell, regardless of where it is found. For example, one’s
DNA is the same whether it is retrieved from his or her saliva,
hair, skin tissue, blood or bone.
DNA, when present, can be extremely important
to either side in a sexual battery case. In order to convict
someone of a sexual battery, there is no requirement that
he or she caused any injury to his or her intimate partner.
In fact, many sexual battery cases are filed based entirely
on the allegations of the accuser. With such a burden of proof,
it would be quite easy for a spiteful individual to bring
charges against his or her intimate partner based on feelings
of anger, jealousy or revenge and not on fact. Unfortunately,
this isn’t as uncommon as one would like to believe,
as domestic violence statistics reveal that many partners
involved in abusive relationships are both victims and both
abusers and will often do whatever it takes to gain control
over the other, which includes filing false charges. For example,
a self-proclaimed “victim” may accuse his or her
intimate partner of committing sexual battery when such an
incident didn’t occur and/or may create a self-inflicted
injury and then blame it on a sexual battery committed by
his or her intimate partner.
DNA evidence may help prove that the accused
is innocent and a victim of false charges if his or her DNA
was nowhere to be found at the crime scene or if someone else’s
DNA was alternatively discovered. Common places for DNA to
appear in a sexual battery case include one’s semen,
saliva, blood and/or skin tissue. If any of these are found
on the alleged victim, it may be more difficult to claim that
the defendant isn’t guilty. If his or her DNA was retrieved
from the scene, an experienced California domestic violence
lawyer would know what arguments to make to try to have such
evidence excluded and would also know what defenses would
be best suited for such a situation.
When accused of sexual battery, charged as
an intimate partner abuse crime, it is essential for the accused
to hire a criminal defense lawyer who handles these types
of technical cases. There are so many trial issues and evidentiary
issues, such as DNA evidence, that are specific to DV crimes
and having a lawyer who isn’t well-versed in this area
of the law places the defendant at a significant disadvantage.
The GLBT supportive attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm have
successfully defended countless individuals charged with California
crimes of domestic abuse. They understand the highly complex
issues that go hand-in-hand with a sexual battery case and
know how to effectively respond to each. It’s difficult
enough being a gay individual accused of a same sex crime
in a homophobic society without the additional frustration
of having an attorney who “just doesn’t get it”.
Call the trusted attorneys at the Law Offices of Darren Kavinoky
today for a free consultation. |
